Vehicle exterior rearview mirror assembly

ABSTRACT

A mirror system for a vehicle comprising an exterior rearview mirror assembly, which includes a fixed portion which is configured to mount to a side of the vehicle. The movable portion includes a reflective element and a reflective element actuator. The reflective element has a generally rearward field of view when the mirror system is mounted to the vehicle. The reflective element actuator provides selective adjustment of an orientation of the reflective element to adjust the rearward field of view to a desired orientation, and the movable portion is movably mounted to the fixed portion. The movable portion actuator selectively moves the movable portion between a viewing position wherein the movable portion extends outwardly from the vehicle at an angle with respect to the side of the vehicle and another viewing position wherein said movable portion extends outwardly from the vehicle at another angle with respect to the side of the vehicle. The movable portion actuator is adapted to move the movable portion to one of the positions, and the reflective element actuator is adapted to generally maintain the rearward field of view at the desired orientation independent of the position of the movable portion.

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/301,219, filed Jun. 27, 2001, entitled VEHICLE EXTERIOR REARVIEWMIRROR ASSEMBLY, by Applicant Leo W. Pavao, and is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to an exterior rearview mirrorassembly and, more particularly, to an exterior rearview mirror assemblythat generates reduced wind noise.

Most, if not all, exterior rearview mirror assemblies create to varyingdegrees wind drag, which generates noise that can be heard in theinterior of most vehicles. The threshold at which the noise becomesnoticeable varies with the aerodynamic properties of the exterior of themirror assembly, the speed of the vehicle on which the mirror assemblyis mounted, and the insulation of the vehicle body. Another consequenceof wind drag is decreased fuel economy which becomes more prevalent athigher speeds.

While some mirror assemblies incorporate folding mechanisms, such asbreakaway mechanisms and/or power-fold mechanisms, which permit, forexample, the mirror casing to fold about the mounting portion,conventional vehicular exterior rearview mirror assemblies have a fixedangular orientation with respect to the vehicle for normal operatingconditions. Break-away mechanisms permit the mirror casing or movableportion of the mirror assembly to fold against the vehicle when themovable portion is impacted with a force to thereby minimize damage tothe mirror assembly when contact is made between the mirror assembly andan object. Power-fold mechanisms are commonly found in European vehiclesand are provided to fold the mirror assembly against the side of thevehicle when the vehicle is parked to reduce the width of the vehicle.At lower speeds, the wind drag created by these fixed mirror assembliesmay not be noticeable, but at elevated speeds, the noise level may beunacceptable.

Various attempts have been made to reduce the wind noise generated byexterior mirror assemblies. For example, structures have beenincorporated into the exterior rearview mirror assembly housing toseparate the airflow over the mirror assembly, which reduces turbulenceof the airflow over the housing and, hence, reduces the noise. However,these structures are not aesthetically pleasing to some automobilemanufacturers. Moreover, the cost of incorporating these variousstructures into the mirror assembly for some vehicles may be costprohibitive.

Consequently, there is a need for a mirror assembly that exhibitsreduced drag to thereby reduce the wind noise associated with the mirrorassembly and, further, all in a manner that can minimize the cost ofmanufacturing the mirror assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the exterior rearview mirror assembly of the present invention, theangular orientation of the movable portion of the mirror assembly isselectively adjusted towards the side of the vehicle body while thevehicle is in motion to reduce the wind drag generated by the mirrorassembly, thereby, reducing the wind noise associated with the mirrorassembly.

According to one form of the invention, a mirror system comprises anexterior rearview mirror assembly, which includes a fixed portion and amovable portion. The fixed portion is configured to mount to a side of avehicle, with the movable portion movably mounted to the fixed portion.The movable portion includes a reflective element and a reflectiveelement actuator. The reflective element actuator provides selectiveadjustment of the orientation of the reflective element to adjust therearward field of view. The mirror assembly further includes a movableportion actuator for selectively moving the movable portion about thefixed portion between a first viewing position, wherein the movableportion is extended outward of the vehicle at a first angle with respectto the side of the vehicle, and a second viewing position wherein themovable portion is extended outwardly from the vehicle at a second anglewith respect to the side of the vehicle. The reflective element actuatoris adapted to direct the orientation of the reflective element to adesired orientation to generally maintain the rearward field of view ofthe reflective element independent of the position of the movableportion. The desired orientation of the reflective element is preferablyset or selected by the driver of the vehicle in order to provide adesired, predetermined field of view rearward in the side lane adjacentthe side of the vehicle to which the mirror assembly is mounted. Whentravelling on a highway or the like, the orientation of the reflectiveelement changes dynamically with the speed of the vehicle and varieswith changes in the orientation of the movable portion of the mirrorassembly in order to maintain generally constant the reflectiveelement's field of view to the desired, predetermined field of view. Forexample, when the movable portion moves inwardly towards the side bodyof the vehicle when the vehicle is travelling at a high speed (forexample, greater than about 45 miles per hour), the mirror reflectormoves outwards relative to the side of the vehicle in order to view agenerally constant field of view.

In one aspect, the mirror system includes a control, which actuates themovable portion actuator to move the movable portion, for example, inresponse to the speed of the vehicle. For example, the control may beadapted to selectively actuate the movable portion actuator in responseto the vehicle traveling at one or more pre-selected speeds. Inaddition, the control may actuate the movable portion actuator to movethe movable portion to a first angular position of the movable portionwith respect to the side of the vehicle body (and may actuate thereflective element actuator to move the reflective element to a firstangular position of the reflective element with respect to the side ofthe vehicle body) when the vehicle travels at one pre-selected speed andto actuate the movable portion actuator to move the movable portion to asecond angular position of the movable portion (and may actuate thereflective element actuator to move the reflective element to a secondangular position of the reflective element with respect to the side ofthe vehicle body) when the vehicle travels at a second pre-selectedspeed wherein the angle of the first angular position of the movableportion is smaller than the angle of the second angular position of themovable portion when the one pre-selected speed is greater than thesecond pre-selected speed and wherein the angle of the first angularposition of the reflective is greater than the angle of the secondangular position of the reflective element when the one pre-selectedspeed is greater than the second pre-selected speed.

According to another form of the invention, a mirror system for avehicle includes an exterior rearview mirror assembly and a control. Theexterior rearview mirror assembly includes a reflective element, a fixedportion, which is configured to mount to a side of a vehicle, and amovable portion, which is movably mounted to the fixed portion. Thereflective element is supported in the movable portion by a reflectiveelement actuator and has a generally rearward field of view when themirror assembly is mounted to the vehicle. The reflective elementactuator provides selective adjustment of the orientation of thereflective element to adjust the rearward field of view. The mirrorassembly also includes a movable portion actuator for selectively movingthe movable portion between a first viewing position, wherein themovable portion is extended outwardly from the vehicle at a first anglewith respect to the side of the vehicle, and a second viewing position,wherein the movable portion is extended outwardly from the vehicle at asecond angle with respect to the side of the vehicle. The controlselectively actuates the movable portion actuator to move the movableportion about the fixed portion to one of the viewing positions, whilethe reflective element actuator is adapted to be directed to a desired,preferably driver selected orientation to maintain the rearward field ofview of the reflective element independent of the position of themovable portion. In this manner, a driver of the vehicle can pre-selectan orientation of the reflective element, which will remain generallyunchanged even when the movable portion of the mirror assembly is movedor pivoted closer toward the side of the vehicle.

In one aspect, the mirror system further includes a reflective elementsupport, with the reflective element actuator being supported by thereflective element support in the movable portion.

According to another aspect, the exterior rearview mirror assemblyfurther includes a power-fold mechanism, with the movable portion movingbetween the viewing positions by actuation of the power-fold mechanism.

In yet another aspect, the reflective element actuator is supported bythe movable portion. In addition, the control selectively actuates thereflective element actuator to adjust the orientation of the reflectiveelement to generally maintain the rearward field of view independent ofthe position of the movable portion.

In yet another form of the invention, a mirror system includes anexterior rearview mirror assembly. The exterior rearview mirror assemblyincludes a fixed portion, which is configured to mount to a side of avehicle, and a movable portion, which includes a reflective element anda reflective element actuator and which is movably mounted to the fixedportion. The reflective element actuator provides selective adjustmentof the orientation of the reflective element to adjust its rearwardfield of view. The rearview mirror assembly further includes a movableportion actuator for selectively moving the movable portion and a lightassembly provided in the movable portion which generates a sweepinglight pattern when the movable portion actuator and light assembly areactuated.

In one aspect, the movable portion actuator is adapted to move themovable portion to a plurality of viewing positions, while thereflective element actuator is adapted to adjust the orientation of thereflective element to be directed to a desired, preferably driverselected orientation to generally maintain the rearward field of viewindependent of the position of the movable portion.

In a further aspect, the mirror system includes a control whichselectively actuates the movable portion actuator to move the movableportion about the fixed portion to one of its viewing positions andselectively actuates the reflective element actuator to direct theorientation of the reflective element to the desired, preferably driverselected orientation to generally maintain the rearward field of viewindependent of the position of the movable portion.

According to another aspect, the light assembly is preferably providedat an outboard end of the mirror casing. In this manner, when themovable portion is pivoted about the fixed portion, the light assemblygenerates a light pattern that sweeps at least generally laterallyoutward from the mirror assembly over a range, which generallycorresponds to the movement of the movable portion of the mirror system.

In yet another aspect, the mirror assembly includes two reflectiveelements, with one of the reflective elements providing a wide-angleview.

According to yet another aspect, the fixed portion of the interiorrearview mirror assembly includes a light assembly, which provides alight pattern that extends generally rearwardly and laterally of thevehicle when the mirror system is mounted to the vehicle.

As will be understood, the exterior rearview mirror system of thepresent invention provides a mirror assembly that creates less drag thanconventional fixed mirror assembly designs to thereby reduce wind noise.In addition, the rearview mirror system maximizes the use of componentsalready available in the mirror assembly by modifying or extending theirfunctions to produce a reduced noise mirror assembly at relativelyminimal cost increase over existing mirror assemblies.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes, and features of theinvention will become more apparent from the study of the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mirror system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the mirror system of FIG. 1 illustrating themovable portion of the mirror system moving between a plurality ofviewing positions;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the mirror system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the control system of the mirror systemof FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the control system of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6A is a top plan view illustrating another embodiment of the mirrorsystem of FIG. 1 incorporating a light assembly;

FIG. 6B is an elevation view illustrating another embodiment of themirror system of FIG. 1 incorporating a reflector;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of themirror system of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an elevation view of another embodiment of a mirror system ofthe present invention incorporating a spotter mirror;

FIG. 9 is a cross-section view taken along line IX—IX of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the mirror systemof the present invention incorporating a light assembly;

FIG. 11 is a similar view to FIG. 10 illustrating the mirror system withthe light assembly removed;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of the sail of the mirror systemof FIGS. 10 and 11 incorporating a light assembly;

FIG. 12A is a plan view of the sail of FIG. 12 illustrating the lightpattern generated by the light assembly when mounted in the sail;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the mirror systemof the present invention incorporating an external light module;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of the light module of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a cross-section view taken along line XV—XV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of a mirrorsystem of the present invention; and

FIG. 17 is a cross-section taken along line XVII—XVII of FIG. 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the numeral 10 generally designates a mirrorsystem of the present invention, which includes an exterior mirrorassembly 11 that is suitable for mounting to a side of a vehicle. Mirrorsystem 10 is adapted to reduce the drag generated by air flow acrossexterior rearview mirror assembly 11 by varying the angular orientationof the movable portion or mirror casing of mirror assembly 11, as willbe more fully described below.

As best seen in FIG. 1, exterior rearview mirror assembly 11 includes amirror casing 12 and a reflective element assembly 14, which is housedin mirror casing 12. Casing 12 is preferably a molded housing formedfrom a plastic material, and, more preferably, formed from apolypropylene or glass nylon filled material. For example, casing 12 maybe formed from other suitable materials, such as a polyolefin, andpainted or coated with a decorative finish or provided with a skull cap,which may be painted or coated with a decorative finish, such asdescribed in U.S. patent applications entitled “COATED EXTERIOR MIRRORHOUSING FOR VEHICLES”, Ser. No. 09/348,083, filed Jul. 6, 1999, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,150,014; and “COATED POLYOLEFIN EXTERIOR VEHICLE PARTS ANDMETHOD FOR MAKING SAME”, Ser. No. 09/489,322, filed Jan. 21, 2000, whichare herein incorporated by reference in their entireties. Suitabledecorative finishes include color finishes, preferably, color finishesthat match the body color of the vehicle, wood grain finishes, accentfinishes, such as neon colors, designer colors, color patterns, carbonfiber finishes, brushed aluminum finishes, or the like.

Exterior rearview mirror assembly 11 further includes a fixed mountingportion 16, which fixedly mounts mirror assembly 11 to a side panel of avehicle. In the illustrated embodiment, mirror casing 12 is movablymounted to mounting portion 16 so that casing 12 is pivotal about apivot axis 18 and is movable between a normal viewing or angularposition (as shown in FIG. 1) and one or more folded angular positions(shown in phantom in FIG. 2). As will be described in reference tocontrol system 40 (FIGS. 4 and 5), mirror casing 12 is pivoted or foldedinwardly toward the vehicle to reduce the drag on mirror casing 12 inresponse to the speed of the vehicle or in response to input by, forexample, the driver of the vehicle. But in order to maintain therearward field of view of reflective element assembly 14, theorientation of reflective element assembly 14 is also adjusted tocompensate for the repositioning of the mirror casing. In other words,when a driver of the vehicle positions the reflective element assemblyin a pre-selected orientation with respect to the vehicle, such as by anactuator (for example, via a joystick or similar reflective elementfield of view positioning user interface or via a memory mirror system,such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,083 ; U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,976 ;and U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,176 , which are incorporated by reference hereinin their entireties), that orientation remains generally constantregardless of the angular orientation of the mirror casing. In thismanner, the field of view of the reflective element assembly may remaingenerally constant even when the mirror casing is pivoted or folded.

As best seen in FIG. 3, reflective element assembly 14 includes areflective element 14 a and a backing plate 14 b, which supportsreflective element 14 a in mirror casing 12. Reflective element 14 a issecured to backing plate 14 b by a conventional method, includingmechanical attachment or adhesive attachment, for example by adouble-sided adhesive layer 14 c. Reflective element 14 a may comprise aconventional chrome reflective element formed from a glass or plasticsubstrate with a chrome or other reflective layer on its first or secondsurface. Alternately, reflective element 14 a may comprise a variablereflectance reflective element, such as an electro-optic mirror element.For examples of suitable variable reflectance mirror elements, referenceis made to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/350,930, filed Jul. 12,1999, entitled ELECTROCHROMIC POLYMERIC SOLID FILMS, MANUFACTURINGELECTROCHROMIC DEVICES USING SUCH FILMS, AND PROCESSES FOR MAKING SUCHSOLID FILMS AND DEVICES, to Desaraju V. Varaprasad et al., now U.S. Pat.No. 6,154,306, or such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,668,663;5,724,187; 5,910,854; and 5,239,405, the entire disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein.

Referring to FIG. 3, mirror reflective element assembly 14 is supportedin mirror casing 12 by a reflective element actuator 20, which providesfor remote adjustment of reflective element assembly 14 about one ormore axes. In the illustrated embodiment, actuator 20 comprises anelectrical actuator and provides multi-axis positioning of reflectiveelement assembly 14. For details of suitable actuators, reference ismade to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,900,999; 5,986,364; 6,094,027; 6,037,689;6,132,052; 6,168,279; 6,213,612; and 6,243,218, which are incorporatedin their entireties by reference herein. Actuator 20 is mounted incasing 12 by a support 22. In the illustrated embodiment, support 22mounts to rear wall 24 of casing 12 on mounting bosses 26. Support 22includes a support arm 28 which extends through casing 12 to pivotallymount mirror casing 12 on fixed mounting portion 16. In the illustratedembodiment, support 22 mounts mirror casing 12 to mounting portion 16with a break-away connection 30. Break-away connection 30 urges supportarm 28 in frictional engagement with base 32 of mounting portion 16,which frictional engagement is released when a force having sufficientmagnitude is applied to mirror casing 12 to overcome the frictionalengagement between support arm 28 and base 32. Similarly, support 22 ispreferably molded from a plastic material, including for example, apolypropylene or a glass nylon filled material. Support 22 may also beformed from a reinforced polyolefin, such as described in U.S. Pat. No.6,109,586, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.For further details of suitable break-away mechanisms, reference is madeto U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,109,586; 5,903,402; and 5,949,591 and U.S.Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/225,128 , which areincorporated in their entireties by reference herein. Preferably, suchexterior mirror components, such as mirror casings, mirror mountingplastic brackets, supports, and the like, are manufactured in moldingoperations that impart such components with light weight capability butwhile still maintaining their structural integrity and performance. Suchlight weight molding methods can include an aerated injection moldingprocess, such as a the MUCELL™ process, such as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/679,997, filed Oct. 15, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No.6,669,267 which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.Alternately, blow molding can be used during molding of, for example, aplastic mirror bracket, support, or casing or housing, so that theweight of the component is reduced thereby.

In addition, mirror system 10 includes a movable portion actuator 34.Actuator 34 may comprise, for example, a conventional power-foldmechanism and selectively pivots mirror casing 12 (and the variouscomponents housed the mirror casing) about a pivot bushing 38 which ismounted in or formed on mounting portion 16. For further details of apower-fold mechanism, reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,243,218;5,210,651; and 5,579,178, which are incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

In the illustrated embodiment, mirror system 10 includes a controlsystem 40, which selectively actuates both movable portion actuator 34and reflective element actuator 20. Control system 40 adjusts theangular orientation of mirror casing 12 about pivot axis 18 to reducethe drag created by mirror casing 12. For example, control system 40 mayadjust mirror casing 12 based on the speed of the vehicle or based onthe gear in which the vehicle is operating. When the speed of thevehicle increases or reaches a pre-selected magnitude, control system 40pivots or folds mirror casing 12 inwardly toward the side of the vehiclebody to reduce the drag created by mirror casing 12. Similarly, when thevehicle speed reduces below the pre-selected magnitude, control system40 pivots or folds mirror casing 12 outwardly to its normal operating orhome position. Optionally, control system 40 is adapted to provideincremental pivoting or travel of mirror casing 12 about pivot axis 18based on a vehicle parameter, such as incremental speed changes orchanges in gear. For example, control system 40 may pivot mirror casing12 to a first angular orientation when the vehicle reaches or exceeds afirst speed, for example 55 mph, and may pivot the mirror casing 12 to asecond, smaller angular orientation when the vehicle reaches or exceedsa second, greater speed, for example 70 mph. Alternately, control system40 may be adapted to allow the vehicle user to determine when and howfar (within certain set limits) to move mirror casing 12.

In addition to controlling the position of mirror casing 12, controlsystem 40 adjusts the orientation of reflective element assembly 14using actuator 20 to accommodate the repositioning of mirror casing 12.For example, when control system 40 pivots mirror casing 12, controlsystem 40 either generally simultaneously or a short time after adjuststhe orientation of the reflective element assembly 14 to maintain theorientation of the reflective element assembly at, for example, adriver's pre-selected orientation, so that the orientation of thereflective element assembly is maintained at the desired orientationregardless of the angular orientation of the mirror casing 12. As wouldbe understood by those skilled in the art, when mirror casing 12 ispivoted inwardly toward the vehicle, the viewing area of reflectiveelement assembly 14 changes and diminishes the rearward field of view ofreflective element assembly 14. In order so that the rearward field ofview of reflective element assembly 14 is maintained at its desiredorientation, control system 40 actuates and adjusts actuator 20 so thatthe viewing area of reflective element assembly 14 is generally constantregardless of the position of mirror casing 12. To achieve this, controlsystem 40 actuates reflective element actuator 20 to move the reflectiveelement assembly 14 outward as actuator 34 moves mirror casing 12 inward(relative to the side of the vehicle). Similarly, when power-foldmechanism 34 moves mirror casing 12 outwardly (relative to the side ofthe vehicle), control system 40 actuates actuator 20 to move reflectiveelement assembly inward. In this manner, the driver is allowed to retainthe rearward field of view of the reflective element assembly 14substantially unchanged and independent of the angular orientation ofmirror casing 12.

Referring to FIG. 2, control system 40 includes a mirror casing positionand reflective element position monitoring system 42 and a controlmodule 44. Control module 44 generates pulses 46 which are transmittedto a position controller 48 that is provided in power-fold mechanism 34.Position controller 48 generates a signal 50 which is transmitted to amotor driver 52, which in turn generates a drive signal 54 transmittedto motor 56 of power-fold mechanism 34. Control system 40 preferablyincludes a feedback loop 58 with a potentiometer 60 that monitors theposition of mirror casing 12. Control module 44 also generates pulsesignals 62 which are input into a position controller 64 that isprovided in actuator 20. Controller 64 produces an output 66 to motordriver 68, which generates drive signals 70 to actuate motors 72 ofreflective element actuator 20. Similarly, control system 40 includes afeedback loop 74 for actuator 20. Included in feedback loop 74 is apotentiometer 76 that is coupled, such as by mechanical coupling, toreflective element assembly 14 and produces an output signal 78, whichis indicative of the orientation of reflective element assembly 14. Itshould be understood that control module 44 may be positioned anywherein exterior rearview mirror assembly 11 or inside the vehicle. Byincluding a position monitoring system, control system 40 is capable ofdriving movable portion/power-fold mechanism 34 until it reaches adesired target position based on the information provided by feedbackloop 58. Similarly, control system 40 is capable of driving reflectiveelement actuator 20 until reflective element assembly 14 is in a targetposition based on the information provided by feed back loop 74.Optionally, control system 40 may include a manual control, such as amirror positioning switch 80, which may be set by the user of thevehicle to select the desired angular orientation of mirror casing 12.Mirror positioning switch 80 may comprise a joy stick, a switch pod, ora similar manually actuatable device. In addition, control system 40 mayinclude a memory set switch 82, which is operable by the user in orderto set memory positions for mirror casing 12. Memory set switch 82 mayset memory positions based on, for example, the speed of the vehicle orthe gear in which the vehicle is operating.

In addition to controlling the orientation of mirror casing 12 and theactuation of reflective element actuator 20, control system 40 maycontrol other accessories, which may be provided in mirror system 10,such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575, which is incorporated byreference in its entirety herein. For example, mirror system 10 may alsoinclude: Lights, including signal lights or security lights or lightmodules, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,371,659; 5,497,306;5,823,654; and 5,669,699, and in commonly assigned, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/102,414, filed Jun. 22, 1998 by Pastrick et al.,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,602; Ser. No. 09/335,010, filed Jun. 17, 1999 byPastrick et al., now U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,821; and Ser. No. 60/271,466,filed Feb. 26, 2001; sensors, such as exterior temperature sensors; andcameras, such as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,935;or the like, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

Referring to FIG. 5, when based on speed, control system 40 compares thespeed of the vehicle to a stored speed value 90. Though it should beunderstood that other values, such as gear values or the like, may beused for comparison. If the speed of the vehicle is greater than thestored speed value, control system 40 actuates movable portion actuator34 (92). Control system 40 monitors the orientation or position ofmirror casing 12 and compares the mirror casing position to a storedmirror position value for that particular speed 94. When the mirrorcasing reaches the position that corresponds to the stored mirrorposition value, then control system 40 deactivates or de-energizes thepower-fold mechanism 34 (96). In addition, control system 40 actuatesreflective element actuator 20 to adjust the orientation of reflectiveelement assembly 14 (98). Control system 40 monitors the position ofreflective element assembly 14 using potentiometer 76 and compares thereflective element assembly position to a stored reflector positionvalue associated with the stored mirror position value (100) thatcorresponds to the orientation of the mirror casing. When the reflectiveelement actuator 20 has adjusted the reflective element assembly toreach the stored reflector position value, control system 40 ceasesgenerating drive signal to reflective element actuator 20 (102). As thespeed of the vehicle decreases or increases, control system 40 continuesto monitor the speed of the vehicle to either return mirror casing 12 toits original or home position or further adjust the mirror casing toanother angular orientation. For example, control system 40 may beprogrammed to adjust the angular orientation of mirror casing 12 inresponse to the vehicle reaching more than one pre-selected value. Inwhich case, control system 40 may further adjust mirror casing 12 to asecond stored mirror position value which corresponds to a second storedspeed value and likewise adjust reflective element actuator 20 to asecond stored reflector position value that corresponds to the secondstored mirror position value.

In this manner, the mirror system of the present invention provides anexterior mirror assembly in which the movable portion, typically themirror casing, is moved to reduce the drag of exterior rearview mirrorassembly 11 while adjusting the reflective element to at least generallymaintain the field of view of the reflective element assemblysubstantially unchanged at its pre-selected orientation and, therefore,independent of the orientation of mirror casing 12. As the mirror sweepsinward to the side of the vehicle when the speed increases, theassociated drag and wind noise is reduced. In addition, as the mirrorsweeps inward toward the side of the vehicle, the reflective elementassembly is pivoted outboard to minimize, if not eliminate, the field ofview loss.

Referring to FIG. 6A, mirror system 110 includes an exterior mirrorassembly 111 and a light emitting element such as a light assembly 190,which provides a light pattern 192 and which may be used as a spot lightor the like. Mirror assembly 111 includes a fixed or mounting portion116 and movable portion 112, which is movably mounted to the fixedportion and houses a reflective element assembly 114 similar to theprevious embodiment. In addition, mirror assembly 111 includes a movableportion actuator, such as a power-fold mechanism 118. Power-foldmechanism 118 folds the mirror casing or movable portion about a pivotaxis 119 on fixed portion 116, for example, when the vehicle on whichthe mirror assembly is mounted is driven into a tight space, such as ina parking lot or garage to reduce the width of the vehicle. Power-foldmechanism 118 can be actuated by the driver using a control, such as aswitch, or by a sensor, such as a proximity detector, which generates anactuation signal when the mirror assembly comes in close proximity to anobject.

In the illustrated embodiment, mirror system 110 includes a control 120which adjusts the orientation of mirror casing 112 about fixed portion116 by actuating power-fold mechanism 118 in response to input from anoccupant of the vehicle, such as the driver. Control 120 may be locatedin the mirror assembly or elsewhere in the vehicle and includes a useractuatable device, such as a switch, which is accessible by the occupantand which actuates power-fold mechanism 118 and light assembly 190.Optionally, control 120 may be configured to actuate the power-foldmechanism and the reflective element actuator similar to the previousembodiment to reduce the wind noise produced by mirror assembly 111while maintaining the field of view of reflective element assembly 114at a pre-selected orientation, which is independent of the position ofthe mirror casing.

In the illustrated embodiment, the control system selectively actuatesand deactivates light assembly 190, for example, in response to inputsignals from an occupant of the vehicle. For example, the control systemmay be configured to actuate light assembly 190 while actuating thepower-fold mechanism to fold the folding portion of mirror assembly 111to its folded position so that light pattern 192 sweeps an area adjacentthe side of the vehicle as the power-fold mechanism moves movableportion or casing 112 about fixed portion 116. The sweeping beam oflight is particularly useful for safety or security purposes when thevehicle is parked and not in motion. For example when driving into adark parking garage or building, the occupant of the vehicle may wish toilluminate the area adjacent the vehicle to make sure that there isenough room to park or to make sure that the space next the vehicle isfree of obstacles and/or persons. Optionally, the control system mayinclude a lock-out, such as a lock-out circuit, so that light assembly190 can not be used while the vehicle is being driven. Such lock-outcircuits are conventional, and one such suitable circuit is described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,371,659 , which is incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

As viewed in FIG. 6A, light pattern 192 extends generally outward andlaterally from the vehicle. Depending on the optics of the lightassembly cover 194 and/or optional reflector 196 and/or directionalityof light source 198, the light generated by light source 198 may alsoextend downwardly to illuminate the ground area next to the side of thevehicle. Suitable light sources for light assembly 190 include anincandescent light source, a fluorescent light source, such as a coldcathode fluorescent light source, a phosphorous light source, a neonlight source, a discharge light source, an arc light source, anelectroluminescent light source (including inorganic or organicelectroluminescent light sources), a laser diode light source, a solidstate emitter light source (such as light emitting diode (LED)), a lightpipe light source, or the like, or the light module described incopending U.S. provisional application entitled VEHICULARNON-INCANDESCENT LIGHT MODULE, Ser. No. 60/271,466, filed Feb. 26, 2001, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Optionally, light assembly 190 comprises a unitary light module, whichis electrically connected to, for example, a vehicle area network or thevehicle ignition system. For examples of a vehicle area network,reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,175,164 and 5,959,367, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

Referring to FIG. 6B, mirror system 210 includes an exterior rearviewmirror assembly 211 and a control (not shown) similar to the previousembodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, mirror casing 212incorporates a light reflecting element in the form of a reflector 290.Reflector 290 is preferably mounted at a side of mirror casing 212 thatfaces oncoming traffic. In the illustrated embodiment, reflector 290 islocated at a leading edge 212 a of casing 12. Reflector 290 may comprisean applique or a material coating, which is painted on, molded with, orattached to mirror casing 212. Reflector 290, for example, mayincorporate retro-reflective surfaces or reflective or refractiveparticles to form a passive warning system which emits, reflects, orrefracts light when light is directed onto reflector 290. Alternately,reflector 290 may be formed by a coating of a luminous or phosphorescentpaint, coating, or the like. Reflector 290 thus functions as a reflectorof headlights of approaching/oncoming vehicles, thus enhancing thevisibility and conspicuity of the vehicle equipped with the exteriormirror assembly of this present invention.

In the illustrated embodiment, mirror casing 212 incorporates a shell orskull cap 214, with reflector 290 incorporated into skull cap 214. Forexample, skull cap 214 may be molded or painted or otherwise decoratedwith reflector 290. For example of a suitable skull cap and method toincorporate reflector 290, reference is made to U.S. patent applicationentitled CONSOLIDATED EXTERIOR SIDEVIEW MIRROR ASSEMBLY INCORPORATING ANIN-MOLD FILM PROCESS, Ser. No. 09/564,665, filed May 1, 2000, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,310,738, which is incorporated by reference in its entiretyherein. In this manner, reflector 290 enhances the visibility andconspicuity of the vehicle.

Referring to FIG. 7, the numeral 310 designates yet another embodimentof the mirror system of the present invention. Mirror system 310includes an exterior rearview mirror assembly 311 and an optionalcontrol similar to the first embodiment. Mirror assembly 311 includes ahousing 312 and a reflective element assembly 314, which is supported inmirror housing 312 by an actuator 320. Housing 312 includes a firstportion 313 a, which forms a mirror casing, and a second portion 313 bwhich forms a sail. Housing 312 is mounted to a side of a vehicle by asupport bracket 316, which extends through housing 312 on one end andmounts directly to a panel or vehicle door. Mounting end 316 a ofmounting bracket 316 includes a generally triangular-shaped mountingflange 318 a and triangular-shaped base 318 b, which includes aplurality of mounting openings 318 c for receiving fasteners formounting bracket 316 to the vehicle. Optionally, mounting flange 318 aand base 318 b are mounted to the vehicle through a triangular-shapedadapter member 317, which adapts the mounting of the mirror assembly tothe door frame of the vehicle. It should be understood, therefore, thatthe size and shape of adapter member 317 may change depending on theconfiguration of the vehicle door. Sail 313 b forms a cover 319 whichincludes a triangular base 321 that extends over adapter member 317 anda tapered down neck 322 which provides the transition between mirrorcasing 312 and sail 313 b. Neck 322 receives an extended portion 324 ofcasing 312 a and is adapted to permit pivoting of mirror casing 312 incover 319 without binding.

Similar to the previous embodiments, mirror casing 313 a is mounted topermit mirror casing 313 a to pivot about a pivot axis 318 so thatmirror casing 312 can be folded toward the vehicle to reduce the dragand hence wind noise associated with the exterior rearview mirrorassembly 311. However, in the illustrated embodiment, reflective elementactuator 320 is mounted to mounting bracket 316 such that mountingbracket and actuator 320 remain stationary with respect to the vehicle.In this manner, the orientation of reflective element assembly 314 isindependent of the orientation of mirror casing 313 a.

Mirror casing 313 a is pivotally mounted on support bracket 316 by pivotbushing 330, which extends above and below bracket 316 along pivot axis318. Furthermore, exterior rearview mirror assembly 311 includes amovable portion actuator, such as a power-fold mechanism 340, whichpivots mirror casing 312 about bushing 330 to thereby pivot casing 312relative to fixed support bracket 316. As will be understood by thoseskilled in the art, in order to accommodate the relative movementbetween casing 312 and support bracket 316, support bracket 316 isextended into mirror casing 312 but spaced from end wall 312 a and backwall 312 b. In addition, reflective element assembly 314 is dimensionedto also permit relative movement of casing 312 about pivot axis 318without the interference.

Power-fold mechanism 340 is actuated by a control system similar tocontrol system 40 described in reference to the first embodiment.However, the control system for mirror system 310 provides adjustment topower-fold mechanism 340 only, since the movement of mirror casing 312about support bracket 316 does not impact the orientation of reflectiveelement assembly 314. In this manner, mirror assembly 310 includes amirror casing that can be selectively pivoted or folded toward thevehicle in a manner to reduce drag and associated wind noise whilemaintaining the orientation of reflective element assembly 314 generallyconstant to maintain the driver selected viewing area of the reflectiveelement.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the numeral 410 generally designates anotherembodiment of a mirror system of the present invention. Mirror system410 includes an exterior rearview mirror assembly 411. Mirror assembly411 includes a mounting portion 416 and a mirror casing 412, which ispivotally mounted to mounting portion 416 about a pivot axis 418.Mounting portion 416 is adapted to mount mirror assembly 410 to a sideof a vehicle. Alternately, mirror casing 412 may be fixedly mounted tomounting portion 416 to provide a fixed configuration mirror assembly.

In the illustrated embodiment, mirror casing 412 is pivotally mounted tomounting portion 416 by a break-away mechanism, such as described inU.S. Pat. No. 6,109,586 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,279, the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated by reference in their entireties. Mounted incasing 412 is a reflective element assembly 414. Similar to the previousembodiments, reflective element assembly 414 includes a reflectiveelement 414 a and a backing plate 414 b and a layer of adhesive 414 cwhich secures element 414 a to backing plate 414 b. Preferably,reflective element assembly 414 is adjustable and is supported in mirrorcasing 412 by a reflective element actuator 420, which providesadjustment about one or more axes, as is known in the art. Actuator 420may comprise an electrical actuator, a manual actuator, or a cableactuator, such as a BODEN cable actuator. Actuator 420 mounts to amounting bracket 422, which supports actuator 420 and reflective elementassembly 414 in mirror casing 412. For example, mounting bracket 422 maybe of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,586. In addition, mirrorassembly 411 may incorporate a power-fold mechanism, which may be usedto fold mirror casing 412 to reduce the width of the vehicle and/or toreduce the wind nose generated by mirror assembly 411, as described inreference to the previous embodiments.

Referring again to FIG. 8, mirror assembly 411 further includes aspotter mirror assembly 424. In the illustrated embodiment, spottermirror assembly 424 is mounted for extension from and retraction intomirror casing 412 so that spotter mirror assembly 424 may be stowed orstored when not in use. As best seen in FIG. 9, spotter mirror assembly424 includes a carrier member 426 and a spotter mirror reflectiveelement 428, such as a curved reflective element. The degree ofcurvature of reflective element 428 may be uniform across the substrateor may be varied. For example, reflective element 428 may comprise anaspheric or multi-radiused reflective element described in applicationentitled EXTERIOR MIRROR PLANO-AUXILIARY REFLECTIVE ELEMENT ASSEMBLY,filed Jan. 6, 2000, Ser. No. 09/478,315, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,522,451,the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entiretyherein.

In the illustrated embodiment, outboard end 426 a of carrier 426 ismounted to a bottom wall 412 a of casing 412 by a hinge to provide apivotal mounting of spotter mirror assembly 424 in mirror casing 412.Alternately, spotter mirror assembly 424 may be mounted to mountingbracket 422. Referring again to FIG. 9, bottom wall 412 a includes anopening 412 b into which spotter mirror assembly 424 pivots when spottermirror assembly 424 is moved to a retracted position within casing 412(as shown in phantom lines in FIG. 9). In this manner, when spottermirror assembly 424 is extended from casing 412, the driver of thevehicle will have full use of the viewing area 414 a of reflectiveelement assembly 414 and, further, have the additional viewing areaprovided by reflective element 428. However, when the driver of thevehicle no longer is in need of spotter mirror assembly 424, spottermirror assembly 424 may be moved up into casing 412 behind reflectiveelement assembly 414 and, further, behind actuator 420 to store thespotter mirror assembly 424 for later use. When spotter mirror assembly424 is pivoted to its stowed position, spotter mirror assembly 424preferably does not protrude into the slip stream of mirror assembly 410to thereby minimize the impact on the aerodynamic properties of themirror assembly. In addition, as best understood from FIG. 9, whenspotter mirror assembly 424 is pivoted to its closed or stowed position,its lower or bottom wall 426 b generally follows the contours of casing412 and is substantially flush with bottom wall 412 a of casing 412.Optionally, carrier 426 is formed from the same material as casing 412of mirror assembly. In addition, carrier 426 may be coated or painted toat least generally match or to provide an accent color to the exteriorcolor of casing 412 so that when spotter mirror assembly 424 is pivotedto its stowed position, spotter mirror assembly 424 does not detractfrom the overall aesthetic appearance of mirror assembly 410.

Optionally, spotter mirror assembly 424 may be manually moved betweenits retracted and extended positions. For example, spotter mirrorassembly 424 may incorporate a spring latch mechanism which releases toallow spotter mirror assembly 424 to pivot to its extended viewingposition below casing 412 when bottom wall 426 b of carrier 426 ispressed. In order to facilitate manual actuation, wall 426 b of carriermay incorporate one or more tactile structures, such as a depression,that a person's finger can detect by touch alone. In this manner aperson can reach out through the window and, after detecting the tactilestructures and thereby locating the spotter mirror assembly, pressupward against the spotter mirror assembly to release the latch andthereby permit the spotter mirror assembly to pivot to its extendedposition for viewing by the driver. As would be understood, this manualactuation can be done without distracting the driver's attention fromhis or her forward view since the driver can locate and actuate thespotter mirror assembly without looking toward the exterior rearviewmirror assembly.

Alternately, spotter mirror assembly 424 may be driven to move or pivotbetween its extended and retracted positions by a driver mechanism, suchas a motor, which can be located in mirror casing 412 or elsewhere inthe vehicle. The driver mechanism of spotter mirror assembly 424preferably couples to a control system, such as a vehicle area network,or may directly couple to the vehicle ignition system. Preferably, acontrol or trigger device, such as a switch or toggle, is located withinthe vehicle so that a driver or occupant of the vehicle may actuate thedriver mechanism to move the spotter mirror assembly between itsretracted and extended positions by simply actuating the control ortrigger device.

Referring to FIG. 10, another embodiment 510 of a mirror system of thepresent invention is illustrated. Mirror system 510 includes an exteriorrearview mirror assembly 511 and an optional control similar to theprevious embodiments. Rearview mirror assembly 511 includes a mirrorcasing 512 and a mounting portion 516 on which mirror casing 512 ispivotally mounted. Casing 512 is pivoted about mounting portion 516, forexample, by a break-away mechanism and/or a power-fold mechanism similarto the previous embodiment. Break-away and power-fold mechanisms arecommonly known in the art; for further details reference is made to thebelow noted patents. In the illustrated embodiment, mirror casing 512houses a reflective element assembly 514, which includes aplano-reflective element 514 a and a curved or bent reflective element514 b, such as an aspheric or multi-radiused reflective elementdescribed in application entitled EXTERIOR MIRROR PLANO-AUXILIARYREFLECTIVE ELEMENT ASSEMBLY, filed Jan. 6, 2000, Ser. No. 09/478,315,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,522,451. In addition, as will be described ingreater detail below, mirror assembly 511 incorporates a light assembly530, which may be adapted to provide a signal light or to provide asecurity light.

In the illustrated embodiment, mounting portion 516 comprises atriangular-shaped-mirror sail and includes a mounting flange 520 and abase 522. Base 522 includes a stepped configuration forming an L-shapedbracket 524 for receiving an extended arm or portion 526 of mirrorcasing 512. Extending between lower leg 524 a of bracket 524 and arm 526is a pivot bushing 528 on which casing 512 is pivotally mounted tothereby pivotally mount mirror casing 512 to mounting portion 516.Housed in arm 526 and lower leg portion 524 a is the break-awaymechanism and/or power-fold mechanism. For examples of suitablebreak-away mechanisms and/or power-fold mechanisms, reference is madeherein to U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,168,279; 6,109,586; 5,949,591; 6,243,218;5,210,651; and 5,579,178, which are incorporated by reference herein intheir entireties.

Mounted in base 522 is light assembly 530. Light assembly 530 is angledwith respect to mounting flange such that light assembly 530 directs apattern of light generally outwardly and laterally from the vehicle.Light assembly 530 is particularly suitable for use as a signal lightfor passing vehicles. In which case, light assembly 530 produces acolored light that may be produced by an amber colored lens, ambercolored light source, and/or a filter. Preferably, light assembly 530includes an optical lens 532 that directs light in a light pattern thatis laterally directed substantially away from the side of the vehicle sothat the driver of the vehicle does not directly intercept the patternof light, although a minor intensity (such as 10%) of the pattern may beintercepted by the driver in order to provide awareness to the driverthe actuation of the signal light. Alternately or in addition, lightassembly 530 may incorporate an optical element, such as a reflector,which directs the light in the desired pattern of light. In this manner,a person driving a vehicle next to the vehicle mounted with exteriorrearview mirror assembly 511 of the present invention can view signallight assembly 530 when passing the vehicle, for example after thedriver of the adjacent vehicle has lost visual contact with the rearturn signals of the vehicle and before the driver can view the forwardfacing turn signals of the vehicle.

The light source for signal light assembly 530 may be supplied as aconventional incandescent or halogen light source or a non-incandescentlight source, such as described in co-pending U.S. provisionalapplication entitled VEHICULAR NON-INCANDESCENT LIGHT MODULE, Ser. No.60/271,466, filed Feb. 26, 2001 , which is incorporated by reference inits entirety. For example, the light source may be provided by aconventional incandescent fuse light source or a vacuum fluorescentlight source, which are available in a variety of colors. In addition,the light source may be provided by a light emitting diode or a fiberoptical bundle which forms a light pipe that may be positioned behindlens 532. As noted above, lens 532 is preferably an optical lens and maycomprise a segmented lens, a prismatic lens, or a Fresnel lens in orderto generate the desired light pattern and may use diffractive optics orrefractive optics or their combination.

Referring to FIG. 11, signal light assembly 530 is mounted in an opening540 in base 522. Optionally, when signal light assembly 530 is notchosen as an accessory by the purchaser of the vehicle, mirror assembly511 may incorporate a cover or cap 542 which covers the opening andwhich may incorporate an emblem, for example, an emblem of themanufacture of the vehicle.

Referring to FIG. 12, the light assembly may incorporate a round lens532′ or a rectangular lens (as shown in FIG. 10). As best seen in FIG.12A, light pattern 534 is directed generally laterally and rearwardly ofthe vehicle to illuminate regions of entry or exit, such as adjacent thefront or rear doors of the vehicle. As noted above, light assembly 530may comprise a security light assembly which emits, for example, a whitelight. When used as a security light, light assembly 530 may be adaptedto direct light laterally away from the vehicle and generally downwardlyto illuminate a ground area adjacent the vehicle. For examples ofsuitable security lights and signal lights, reference is made herein toU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,371,659; 5,497,305; 5,669,705; 5,863,116; 6,074,777;6,099,155; 5,497,306; 5,669,699; 5,669,704; 5,879,074; 5,823,654;6,086,229; 6,149,287; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/596,015 ,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,379; Ser. No. 09/641,371 , now U.S. Pat. No.6,299,333; Ser. No. 09/335,010, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,821; and Ser.No. 09/630,332, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,069, all of which areincorporated by reference in their entireties herein.

Referring to FIG. 13, the numeral 610 generally designates anotherembodiment of the mirror system of the present invention. Mirror system610 includes an exterior rearview mirror assembly 611 and an optionalcontrol similar to those described in the previous embodiments. Exteriorrearview mirror assembly 610 includes a mirror casing 612 and a mountingportion 614, which mounts mirror casing 612 to a vehicle. Mirror casing612 may be pivotally mounted to mounting portion 614 in which mirrorcasing 612 may be optionally adapted to fold closer to the vehicle toreduce the wind drag. Alternately, mirror casing 612 may comprise afixed position mirror assembly in which mirror casing 612 and mountingportion 614 are rigidly connected and may be formed as a unitaryhousing, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. Mounted inmirror casing 612 is a reflective element assembly 616. For furtherdetails of suitable reflective element assemblies, reference is made tothe previous embodiments.

Mirror assembly 611 further includes a light assembly 618, which isexteriorly mounted to mirror casing 612 and, in the illustratedembodiment, is mounted to bottom wall 612 a of mirror casing 612.Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, light assembly 618 comprises a unitarymodule, which can be post-attached to the exterior rearview mirrorassembly by, for example, fasteners 620 or by fastenerless attachment ormounting means. As best seen in FIG. 15, light assembly 618 includes oneor more light sources 620, a reflector 622, and a cover 624. Lightsource or light sources 620 may comprise an incandescent light source,such as a bulb or festoon lamp, and may comprise a non-incandescentlight source, such as a light emitting diode (LED), including the lightmodule described in co-pending U.S. provisional application entitledVEHICULAR NON-INCANDESCENT LIGHT MODULE, Ser. No. 60/271,466, filed Feb.26, 2001 , which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. Suitablelight sources include, as noted above, an incandescent light source, afluorescent light source (such as a cold cathode fluorescent lightsource), a phosphorous light source, a neon light source, a dischargelight source, an arc light source, an electroluminescent light source(including inorganic or organic electroluminescent sources), a laserdiode light source, a solid state emitter light source (such as a lightemitting diode), or the like. The light emitted by light sources 620 mayinclude white, orange, yellow, amber, reddish-orange, or the like.

Optionally, light assembly 618 may comprise a signal light assembly inwhich case either one or more of the light sources 620 and/or cover 624may provide the desired color of light. In addition, a filter may beprovided to achieve the desired color. In the illustrated embodiment,cover 624 comprises a lens and, further, an extruded lens which has anarcuate cross-section. Optionally, lens 624 may be extruded with oneportion 624 a having a light blocking color, such as a black, while therearward facing portion 624 b may be formed from a clear or coloredplastic, such as an amber or reddish amber or the like. In addition,lens 624 may incorporate optical features, such as optical surfaces, todirect light form light sources 620 in a desired light patter.Alternately, cover 624 may comprise a clear plastic cover and mayinclude optional optical features, such as optical surfaces, to directthe light from light source(s) 620 in a desired light pattern, such as adownwardly and rearwardly pattern in order to provide a security light.

Mounted to opposed ends of cover 624 are end caps 626, which includemounting flanges 626 a for mounting light assembly 618 to bottom wall612 a of mirror casing 612. In addition, one of the end caps (626) mayinclude a transverse passage 626 b through which wiring 628 of lightsource 620 extends for coupling to a power supply. For example, wiring628 may extend through casing 612 and through mounting portion 614 forcoupling to a vehicle area network or a vehicle ignition system or maybe coupled to a control module located in exterior rearview mirrorassembly 612, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,475 , which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety. End caps 626 arepreferably plastic end caps and, further, are formed from a lightblocking material so that the light from light source(s) 620 does notenter laterally into the vehicle.

Light assembly 618 assembly also includes a mounting plate 630. Cover624 is mounted to mounting plate 630 either by mechanical attachment oradhesive attachment, such as by an adhesive or the like, and encloseslight source(s) 620 therein, which are mounted to mounting flange 640.Together with cover 624 and end caps 626, mounting plate 630 forms theunitary module. In this manner, light assembly 618 can be quickly andeasily attached to a mirror assembly during the assembly process orpost-attached, for example, at a dealership.

Referring to FIG. 16, the numeral 710 designates yet another embodimentof the mirror system of the present invention. Mirror system 710includes a mirror casing 711 and an optional control, similar to thecontrols described in reference to the previous embodiments. Rearviewmirror assembly 711 includes a mirror casing 712 and a reflectiveelement assembly 714, which is supported in mirror casing 712 by anactuator 716 (FIG. 17) which provides for adjustment for reflectiveelement assembly 714 about one or more axes. For details of suitableactuators, reference is made to the previous embodiments. Mirror casing712 further includes an auxiliary or spotter mirror reflective element718 preferably a wide angle reflective element, such as a curvedreflective element including a convex reflective element or amulti-radius or aspheric reflective element. For example, reflectiveelement 718 may comprise a reflective element such as described inapplication entitled EXTERIOR MIRROR PLANO-AUXILIARY REFLECTIVE ELEMENTASSEMBLY, filed Jan. 6, 2000, Ser. No. 09/478,315, now U.S. Pat. No.6,522,451, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference hereinin its entirety. Optionally, mirror casing 712 also includes a lightassembly 720, which may form a turn signal light. For examples ofsuitable light assemblies, reference is made herein to U.S. Pat. Nos.5,371,659; 5,497,305; 5,669,705; 5,863,116; 6,074,777; 6,099,155;5,497,306; 5,669,699; 5,669,704; 5,879,074; 5,823,654; 6,086,229;6,149,287; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/596,015, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,296,379; Ser. No. 09/641,371, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,333;Ser. No. 09/335,010, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,821; and Ser. No.09/630,332, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,069, all of which are incorporatedby reference in their entireties herein. For suitable light sources forlight assembly 720 reference is made to the previous embodiments.

Referring to FIGS. 16 and 17, reflective element 718 and light assembly720 are positioned below reflective element assembly 714. As best seenin FIG. 17, mirror casing 712 includes a rearward facing portion orbezel 722 (which faces toward the trunk or rear of the vehicle whenmounted on a vehicle) and a forward facing portion or back-can 724(which faces in the direction the vehicle is moving when normallytraveling on a highway). Rearward facing portion 722 includes an upperrearward facing recess or recessed portion 726 in which reflectiveelement assembly 714 is supported by actuator 716 and a lower rearwardfacing recessed portion 728, which is below recess 726 and whichprovides a mounting surface or wall 728 a for auxiliary reflectiveelement 718. Reflective element 718 is attached to wall 728 aadhesively, for example, by an adhesive tape 718 a, which is commonlyused in the art, or is mechanically secured such as by snaps, fasteners,or the like. Adjacent recessed portion 728 is a rearward facing opening730 (FIG. 16) and a rearward facing cavity 730 a in which light assembly720 is positioned. Light assembly 720 and reflective element 718 aregenerally horizontally aligned below reflective element assembly 714 inbezel 722 and, further, such that light assembly 720 is in an outboardposition relative to reflective element 718, when rearview mirrorassembly 711 is mounted to the vehicle.

Referring again to FIG. 17, forward facing portion 724 is attached torearward facing portion 722 and is secured thereto mechanically, such asby snaps, fasteners, or the like, or adhesively, such as by using a glueor adhesive tape, to form an enclosure 731. Actuator 716 is supported bya bracket 734, which is positioned in casing 712 behind rear wall 732 ofrecess 726 in enclosure 731 and attached to back wall 732 mechanically,such as by fasteners 734 a, or by heat staking or the like. Bracket 734includes projecting mounting bosses 736 that extend through rear wall732 for mounting actuator 716 thereon by such fasteners.

As is commonly known in the art, forward facing portion 724 may bepainted or coated with a decorative finish, such as described in U.S.patent application entitled COATED EXTERIOR MIRROR HOUSING FOR VEHICLES,Ser. No. 09/348,083, filed Jul. 6, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,014,which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. As will be morefully described below, alternately, forward facing portion 724 may becoated with a decorative film such as described in co-pending U.S.patent application entitled COATED POLYOLEFIN EXTERIOR VEHICLE PARTS ANDMETHOD FOR MAKING SAME, Ser. No. 09/489,322, filed Jan. 21, 2000, whichis incorporated by reference in its entirety. In the illustratedembodiment, forward facing portion 724 includes a film 736 (preferablyan in-mold film such as described and as applied as disclosed in theabove referenced patent application entitled COATED POLYOLEFIN EXTERIORVEHICLE PARTS AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME, which only partially coversforward facing portion 724 to provide a two-tone effect. As a result,the lower portion of forward facing portion 724 is left undecorated (andmay be black depending the material used to form the rearward facingportion) or may be provided with a grained or textured appearance. Asnoted previously, the decorated portion may include a decorative finishsuch as a color finish, including a color finish that matches the bodypaint of the vehicle, a wood grain finish, accent finishes, such as neoncolors, designer colors, color patterns, carbon fiber finishes, brushedaluminum finishes, or the like. Optionally, the lower portion of forwardfacing portion 724 may be provided with molded-in components, such asthe reflectors described in reference to the previous embodiment. Thus,film 736 provides a decorative color or finish to the upper portion offorward facing portion 724, which provides a similar decorativeappearance as a fully covered skull cap but at a reduced cost since thepresent invention eliminates the need for a skull-cap.

In order to conceal the edges of film 736, forward facing portion 724 ismolded with a nesting site 738 at the lower perimeter of the upperportion of forward facing portion 724 and, further, at the upper portionof forward facing portion 724, for example at the juncture between bezel722 and forward facing portion 724. In this manner, the perimeterportion of film 736 may be tucked inwardly during the film applicationprocess. In this manner, mirror casing 712 is provided with a smoothtransition between the film surface and the remaining surface of mirrorcasing 712. Optionally, mirror casing 712 may incorporate a trimelement, such as an overlay, including a gasket material overlay, or agap hider which inserts into nesting portion 734 over the perimeteredges of film 736 to provide a decorative or cosmetic finish to mirrorcasing 712.

While several forms of the invention have been shown and described,other forms will now be apparent to those skilled in the art. Forexample, the mirror assemblies may comprise extendable mirrorassemblies. In addition, many of the mirror assemblies may incorporateskull caps or other styling features to make the mirror assemblies moreaesthetically pleasing to consumers. Furthermore, the exterior rearviewmirror assemblies may incorporate a wide variety of additional features,such as antennas, including global positioning system (GPS) or cellularphone antennas, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,552, acommunication module, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,688,blind spot detection systems, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,929,786 or 5,786,772, transmitters and/or receivers, such as garagedoor openers, including a HOMELINK® system, a digital network, such asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575, a high/low head lamp controller,such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,093, a tire pressure display ormonitoring system, such as disclosed in U.S. patent application entitledTIRE INFLATION ASSISTANCE MONITORING SYSTEM, Ser. No. 09/513,941, filedFeb. 28, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,989, and TIRE INFLATIONASSISTANCE MONITORING SYSTEM, filed Nov. 10, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No.6,445,287, with all of the referenced patents and applications commonlyassigned to Donnelly Corporation, the disclosures of which are hereinincorporated by reference in their entireties.

In addition, the fixed portion of the system may be incorporated into orform a part of a modular door, such as disclosed in U.S. provisionalapplications entitled EXTERIOR MIRROR ASSEMBLY FOR VEHICULAR MODULARDOOR, Ser. No. 60/159,661, filed Oct. 15, 1999; and MODULAR DOORASSEMBLY, Ser. No. 09/679,997, filed Oct. 15, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No.6,669,267, which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Therefore, it will be understood that the embodiments shown in thedrawings and described above are merely for illustrative purposes, andare not intended to limit the scope of the invention which is defined bythe claims which follow as interpreted under the principles of patentlaw including the doctrine of equivalents.

1. A mirror system for a vehicle, said mirror system comprising: anexterior rearview mirror assembly comprising: a fixed portion beingconfigured to mount to a side of the vehicle; a movable portionincluding a reflective element and a reflective element actuator, saidreflective element having a generally rearward field of view when saidmirror system is mounted to the vehicle, said reflective elementactuator providing selective adjustment of an orientation of saidreflective element to adjust said rearward field or view to a desiredorientation, and said movable portion being movably mounted to saidfixed portion; a movable portion actuator for selectively moving saidmovable portion between a viewing position wherein said movable portionis extended outwardly from the vehicle at an angle with respect to theside of the vehicle and another viewing position wherein said movableportion is extended outwardly front the vehicle at another angle withrespect to the side of the vehicle; and said movable portion actuatorbeing adapted to move said movable portion to one of said positions, andsaid reflective element actuator being adapted to generally maintainsaid rearward field of view at said desired orientation independent ofthe position of said movable portion.
 2. The mirror system according toclaim 1, further comprising a control, said control selectivelyactuating said movable portion actuator to move said movable portionabout said fixed portion to one of said viewing positions.
 3. The mirrorsystem according to claim 2, wherein said control is adapted toselective actuate said movable portion actuator in response to the speedof the vehicle.
 4. The mirror system according to claim 3, said movableportion actuator selectively moving said movable portion between aplurality of viewing positions wherein said movable portion is extendedoutwardly from the vehicle at a plurality of angles with respect to theside of the vehicle.
 5. The mirror system according to claim 3, whereinsaid control selectively actuates said reflective element actuator todirect said reflective element to said desired orientation to maintainsaid rearward field of view independent of the position of said movableportion.
 6. The mirror system according to claim 2, wherein saidexterior rearview mirror assembly includes said control.
 7. The mirrorsystem of claim 1, wherein said reflective element actuator Comprises anelectrical actuator.
 8. The mirror system of claim 1, wherein saidreflective element comprises a variable reflectance reflective element.9. The mirror system of claim 1, wherein said exterior rearview mirrorassembly further includes a second reflective element.
 10. The mirrorsystem of claim 9, wherein second reflective element comprises a curvedreflector element.
 11. The mirror system of claim 10, wherein saidexterior rearview mirror assembly further comprises a reflective elementassembly, said reflective element assembly including said secondreflective element.
 12. The mirror system of claim 1, wherein saidmovable portion is movable about said fixed portion by a break-awaymechanism, said movable portion moving from a normal viewing positiontoward a folded position when said movable portion is impacted by aforce having a pre-selected magnitude.
 13. The mirror system of claim 1,wherein said movable portion actuator comprises a power-fold mechanism.14. The mirror system of claim 2, wherein said control comprises amanual control.
 15. The mirror system of claim 1, wherein said exteriorrearview mirror assembly further comprises a light emitting element. 16.The mirror system of claim 15, wherein said light emitting element isprovided at said movable portion.
 17. The mirror system of claim 16,wherein said light emitting element is provided at an outboard positionwhereby said light emitting element generates a sweeping light patternextending outwardly and at least generally laterally with respect to thevehicle when said movable portion actuator is actuated.
 18. The mirrorsystem of claim 15, wherein said light emitting element is provided atsaid fixed portion.
 19. The mirror system of claim 18, wherein saidlight emitting element comprises a signal light assembly.